I watched “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” at the twin theaters at Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond VA when it came out in 1973. My dad and I were Mitchum fans and looked forward to seeing him in a crime movie we thought would give us vintage Mitchum. We were disappointed, I think, because of the movie’s grim tone. And we didn’t like seeing Mitchum getting the short end. Such is the movie fan who likes the star instead of the story. (In that sense, Mitchum as Philip Marlowe in “Farewell My Lovely” two years later was more enjoyable.) Now, after 36 years, I wonder if I’d appreciate “Eddie Coyle” as I have “Donnie Brasco,” which places Al Pacino in a similar spot as a mid-level hood on the downward trajectory of a criminal career. And I hope I’d appreciate Mitchum’s performance for what it was, not for who it was. I remember “Eddie Coyle” as one of those seventies movies that featured the East Coast city in decline – Boston here but usually New York – both grimy and decaying, American society’s version of a coal-mine canary. I trust Criterion to make that hole look as compelling today as it did in ’73.
Has anyone seen The Friends of Eddie Coyle??????????? about 3 years ago
I watched “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” at the twin theaters at Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond VA when it came out in 1973. My dad and I were Mitchum fans and looked forward to seeing him in a crime movie we thought would give us vintage Mitchum. We were disappointed, I think, because of the movie’s grim tone. And we didn’t like seeing Mitchum getting the short end. Such is the movie fan who likes the star instead of the story. (In that sense, Mitchum as Philip Marlowe in “Farewell My Lovely” two years later was more enjoyable.) Now, after 36 years, I wonder if I’d appreciate “Eddie Coyle” as I have “Donnie Brasco,” which places Al Pacino in a similar spot as a mid-level hood on the downward trajectory of a criminal career. And I hope I’d appreciate Mitchum’s performance for what it was, not for who it was. I remember “Eddie Coyle” as one of those seventies movies that featured the East Coast city in decline – Boston here but usually New York – both grimy and decaying, American society’s version of a coal-mine canary. I trust Criterion to make that hole look as compelling today as it did in ’73.
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